Folding bunk with ladder

ABSTRACT

A folding bunk with ladder is to save space and be easy to use in a motor vehicle. The design layout therefore constitutes a folding bunk with a support frame for placement of a mattress, a folding axis that is arranged on a first side of the support frame for pivoting the folding bunk, and a ladder mounted on the second side of the support frame opposite the first side. The ladder is mounted on the support frame in such a way that it can only pivot on a pivot axis parallel to the folding axis and has no other degrees of freedom. In this way, the ladder can be moved into the useable position in one single operation. If required, the ladder can be combined with a safety element to protect the person lying on the folding bunk.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Cross references are hereby made to commonly assigned U.S. Patent applications ______, ______, and ______ (Attorney docket nos. 60631US, 60630US, and 60629US), filed on the same date as the present application.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a folding bunk for a motor vehicle, featuring a support frame for a mattress, a folding axis, which is arranged on a first side of the support frame for pivoting the folding bunk, and a ladder, which is arranged on a second side of the support frame opposite the first side. Such a folding bunk can be used in the tractor or towing vehicle of a motor truck.

A loft bunk ladder for motor homes or caravans is known from European publication EP 1 842 721 A2. The bunk features a lying surface and a frame. In its upper stowed position, the ladder can be stowed away under the support frame for the lying surface and, from this upper stowed position, the ladder can be pulled out into an upper intermediate position. From this upper intermediate position, at least two pivot joints enable the ladder to be pivoted about an approximately horizontal axis down into a lower useable position.

European publication EP 1 842 720 A2 also describes a loft bunk ladder for mobile homes and caravans. A corresponding lift-away bunk exhibits a lying surface and a frame. In its upper stowed position, the ladder can be stowed away under the frame of the lying surface and, from this upper stowed position, can be pulled out in the longitudinal direction of the ladder into an upper intermediate position. From this upper intermediate position, at least two pivot joints enable the ladder to be pivoted about an approximately horizontal axis into a lower useable position around a pivot axis parallel to the corresponding edge of the frame.

International publication WO 03/042484 A1 shows a folding ladder that is also secured to a loft bunk. The upper ends of the vertical struts of the ladder are secured to the front side of the bunk. The ladder can be pivoted in a plane parallel to the front side. When swung in, the folded ladder therefore represents a bar-shaped body.

German publication DE 101 09 054 A1 discloses an access aid for a bunk in a driver's cab of a motor truck. The access aid has a ladder with two linear side sections that, starting from a common head section, taper on an incline. Several rungs extend between the two side sections. The access aid additionally features a mount that is arranged on a frame of the bunk and on which the head section is mounted such that it pivots and rotates.

A problem with such access aids or ladders for folding bunks is that they are either difficult to use or require a large amount of space for moving from the stowed position into the useable position. In addition, it would be of advantage to provide a safety element on a loft or folding bunk so that the user is prevented from falling off while lying on the bunk.

One object of this invention is therefore to propose a folding bunk that has a ladder which is easier to use.

This object is achieved by a folding bunk for a motor vehicle with a support frame for a mattress, with a folding axis arranged on a first side of the support frame for pivoting the folding bunk, and a ladder, which is arranged on the second side of the support frame opposite the first side. The ladder is mounted on the support frame in such a way that it can only pivot on a pivot axis parallel to the folding axis and, therefore, has no other degrees of freedom.

In an advantageous layout it is possible to move the ladder of the folding bunk into its useable position by means of simple pivot motion. In addition, the ladder requires little space to extend.

Advantageously, the ladder can be swivelled into the support frame and secured to the support frame in position to prevent it from swivelling out. Additional space is saved due to the fact that the ladder can be swivelled into the support frame and is thus located, at least partially, within an envelope enclosure of the support frame. The envelope enclosure corresponds to a theoretical envelope which would approximately form a closed flexible film that completely envelops the support frame. Grooves and recesses in the support frame generally do not, or only scarcely, influence the form of the envelope enclosure.

In a folded-in position, the ladder can be arranged completely within the geometric envelope enclosure of the support frame. This arrangement not only makes it possible to save space but also reduces the risk of injury.

In a particularly advantageous design, there is a mechanism integrated in the support frame that transmits pivot motion of the support frame about the folding axis to the ladder to enable pivot motion in the opposite direction about the pivot axis. In this way, the ladder automatically pivots into its useable position as the bunk is folded down. The mechanism can be designed in such a way that the ladder is always positioned vertically while folding down the bunk.

In a further configuration, the ladder can be fixed to a safety element that serves the purpose of protecting a person lying on the folding bunk. In this way, the safety element can be pivoted together with the ladder from a stowed position into a useable position.

The safety element can exhibit two parallel tubes that are joined at the ends. One tube can run along the pivot axis and assume a bearing function while the other tube has a holding function to protect a person.

In addition, the ladder and the safety element can be made from the same tube material. For example, the combination of ladder and safety element can be manufactured from stainless steel tubes to guarantee a high degree of stability. It is particularly advantageous when the ladder and the safety element are made as one piece, thus further increasing the stability.

Furthermore, the ladder and the safety element can assume the outer form of a rectangle where the longitudinal directions of both rectangles are positioned vertical with respect to each other and both components are secured to each other at a corner of the respective rectangle. This results in an easy-to-use safety element-ladder combination which requires less package space and provides a high degree of operating convenience.

Advantageously, the folding bunk according to the invention is used in a motor truck. It can, however, also be used in motor homes, caravans, trains, and the like.

The invention is described in more detail in the following based on the enclosed drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a folding bunk according to the invention in a folded-down position;

FIG. 2 shows the bunk of FIG. 1 in a folded-up position; and

FIG. 3 shows the bunk of FIGS. 1 and 2 during the folding procedure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The embodiment described in more detail in the following represents a preferred design of the invention.

The folding bunk 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is mounted on a wall 2 of a motor vehicle in such a way that it can pivot. The folding bunk features a frame and, if required, a slatted frame (not illustrated here), which together form the support frame 3 for a mattress 4. In this example, the folding bunk 1 is shown between several other items of furniture such as cabinets, shelves, a lower bunk, and similar items that have no relevance here.

A ladder 5 in folded-down position is located at the front side of the folding bunk 1, i.e. on the side of the bunk 1 opposite the wall 2. This ladder is made up of two parallel spars 50 and 51, between which ladder rungs 52, 53, 54 and 55 are arranged. In the useable position illustrated in FIG. 1, the rung 52 represents the lowest rung on the ladder 5. The topmost rung 55 serves less as a climbing aid, instead assuming the function of stabilizing the ladder 5 and enabling the ladder 5 to pivot. For this purpose, the topmost rung 55 exhibits a linear extension 56 that protrudes into a corresponding bearing element in the support frame 3.

A safety element 6 is secured directly to the ladder 5. For this purpose, the topmost rung 55 of the ladder 5 is extended by an axis tube 60 in the direction opposite the extension element 56. The safety element 6 also exhibits a safety tube 61 that runs parallel to the axis tube 60. The axis tube 60 and the safety tube 61 are connected by means of a first spacer tube 62 at the ends facing towards the ladder and with a second spacer tube, not shown in FIG. 1, at the opposite ends. The first spacer tube 62 represents an extension of the left-hand spar 50 of the ladder 5. The axis tube 60 has a linear extension 63 at the end opposite the ladder 5. This extension 63 also protrudes into the support frame 3 and forms a part of the second pivot bearing of the ladder-safety element combination. The pivot axis therefore extends from the extension 56 through the tubes 55 and 60 to the extension 63. The tube 60 constitutes a part of the safety element 6 and the tube 55 is a rung of the ladder 5.

The external dimensions of the ladder 5 are such that the ladder forms a rectangle with rounded corners. This is essentially characterized by the lowermost rung 52, the topmost rung 55 and the two spars 50 and 51. The two rectangles of the ladder 5 and of the safety element 6 are secured to each other at each of their corners. This arrangement results in a mounting point 7, which forms a cross in the center comprising the tubes 55, 62, and 60, as well as the spar 50.

Here, the longitudinal direction of the rectangle of the safety element 6 is positioned vertically with respect to the longitudinal direction of the rectangle of the ladder 5.

In this example, the ladder 5 and the safety element 6 are made from a welded tubular structure. The tubes can be made from stainless steel, for example. In total, this makes up a one-piece ladder-safety element component that can be pivoted.

FIG. 2 shows the folding bunk 1 in the folded-up position, i.e. in the stowed or unused position. The underneath or bottom surface 30 of the support frame 3 exhibits indentations 31, into which the ladder 5 is completely folded. It therefore does not protrude above the bottom surface 30 of the support frame 3. In this way, the ladder 5 does not increase the space requirement of the folding bunk 1. The safety element 6 protrudes with its tubes 61 and 62 vertically over the folding bunk 1. This, however, is of no consequence, as the safety element 6 rests against the wall 2 of the vehicle in this unused position.

FIG. 3 shows a person folding down the folding bunk 1. The folding bunk 1 is in an intermediate position between the useable position and the unused position. The bottom surface 30 of the support frame 3 thus forms an obtuse angle with respect to the wall 2 of the vehicle. The ladder 5 is aligned vertically even in this inclined position. In a simple design layout, the ladder-safety element combination can be moved independent of the folding bunk 1. With the ladder 5 and safety element 6 correspondingly dimensioned, gravity alone ensures that the combination automatically aligns vertically about the pivot axis, represented by the tubes 55 and 60.

In a further developed design layout, however, the movement of the folding bunk 1 is directly coupled to the movement of the ladder-safety element combination. In the support frame 3, for this purpose, a mechanism is provided that transfers the pivot motion of the support frame 3 relative to the wall 2 into a movement of the ladder-safety element combination relative to the support frame 3, but in the opposite direction. The mechanism is designed in such a way that the ladder-safety element combination is always arranged parallel to the wall 2 as the support frame 3 moves. This mechanism also has the added advantage that, both in the retracted position (unused position) as well as in the extended position (useable position) of the folding bunk 1, the ladder-safety element combination is fixed in terms of its pivot movement, as the support frame 3 is stationary in these positions. Otherwise, if such a motion transmission mechanism is not provided, use is made of corresponding locking facilities in the respective positions of the support frame 3 in order to hold the ladder-safety element combination in the required position.

The motion transmission mechanism in the support frame 3 can be realized by a suitable gear system, a suitable linkage, or belts and so on. With such a mechanism, the bunk, including the ladder-safety element combination, can be lowered into the useable position with one single movement.

Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventor to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of his contribution to the art. 

1. A folding bunk for a vehicle comprising: a support frame for placement of a mattress, a folding axis being arranged on a first side of the support frame for pivoting the folding bunk, and a ladder that is arranged on a second side of the support frame opposite the first side, wherein the ladder, at the support frame, is mounted on a pivot axis parallel to the folding axis such that the ladder can only pivot and has no other degrees of freedom.
 2. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 1, wherein the ladder can be folded into the support frame and secured in position to the support frame to prevent the ladder from folding out.
 3. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 2, wherein the ladder, in a folded-in position, is arranged within a geometric envelope enclosure of the support frame.
 4. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 1, wherein the support frame has an integrated mechanism that transmits swivel motion of the support frame about the folding axis to the ladder to enable a swivel motion about the pivot axis in an opposite direction.
 5. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 1, wherein the ladder is fixed to a safety element that serves to provide protection for a person on the folding bunk.
 6. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 5, wherein the safety element has two parallel tubes that are joined at ends thereof.
 7. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 5, wherein the ladder and the safety element are made from the same tube material.
 8. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 5, wherein the ladder and the safety element are formed as one piece.
 9. The folding bunk in accordance with claim 5, wherein the ladder and the safety element each have an outer form of a rectangle, wherein longitudinal directions of both rectangles are positioned vertical with respect to each other, and wherein both components are secured to each other at a corner of the respective rectangle.
 10. A motor truck with a folding bunk in accordance with claim
 1. 